Vulnerablility
by Dani-san
Summary: When he's rescued from Akatsuki's clutches, Naruto knows he can deal with Itachi's rape. But Itachi's left him with more than some physical and emotional scars. Sequel To: Vulnerable
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer:** If I owned Naruto, then Sasuke never would have left the village and there would be Uchiha-Uzumaki babies running around. (:

**Rating:** M

**Warning:** Mention of rape, some strong language, Mpreg, mention of ItaNaru and SasuNaru. And if you squint there might be other pairings mingled in there.

**Author's Note:** Okay. Here's the sequel to _Vulnerable!_

-cricket, cricket-

-sweatdrop-

Anyways, I hope you enjoy this. And I hope it's up to everyone's standards. -scurries behind a couch and peeks head out- This has several broken up parts to it. Yeah, I know, it probably sounds or looks wierd when I jump around from person to person and yadda yadda.

Oh, and I made up the names for the random ANBU Blackhops. ' And I hope I got the old man's name right - the one that works at Ichiraku's, y'know?

* * *

Slowly, bright blue eyes opened, squinting from the sun. His cheek rest lightly against a warm chest, and he was aware of arms wrapped tightly about his body. A blanket was wrapped around him. Naruto lifted his gaze, staring up at the cat-like mask of the ANBU blackhop carrying him.

"Where... Where am I...?" the boy asked with some difficulty.

A feminine voice replied, "You're safe, Naruto."

Naruto accepted the answer, letting his head fall against the woman's chest again. His body ached.

His senses were gradually returning. The boy shifted lightly in the woman's arms, wincing as a stab of pain ran up his spine. He was naked underneath the blanket. The woman carrying him - two other ANBU blackhops were with her - spoke to the others, asking them questions about the losses and their reports; Naruto didn't follow the conversation.

"Are they following us?" the woman suddenly inquired, peering at another, one wearing a bird-like mask. "I can't sense their chakra. I don't think so," came the reply.

For a small moment, there was silence. "Daisuke, I want you to scout the area ahead, just in case. Shibi, stay here with me."

The ANBU blackhop with the bird-like mask nodded once, pushing chakra into the soles of his feet and springing ahead of the other two. Shibi looked to the woman. "Is he conscious, Ayako?" Ayako kept her eyes ahead, her grip tightening on the boy.

"Barely."

Shibi frowned, shifting his gaze ahead once more.

The little blonde closed his eyes. And then Naruto blacked out.

* * *

Haruno Sakura sighed.

She was leaning against the gates of Konoha, watching, waiting for the squad that had been sent out to retrieve her friend. One hand fidgeted with the hem of the skirt worriedly. Where were they? They'd succeeded, hadn't they?

They had to succeed!

Hours before, the Godaime had called on the best of the ANBU blackhops for a mission: to find the Akatsuki hideout and retrieve Uzumaki Naruto from their clutches. It was an S ranked mission. The girl bit her lip, sweeping all bad thoughts away. Her gaze shifted from the trees to the comrades that were waiting with her.

Shikamaru, Kiba, Hinata, and Neji.

The five had been ordered to greet the squad if - when, Sakura thought - they arrived.

Sakura pushed away from the gates, stepping toward her peers. "They'll be here soon," she spoke, staying optimistic. "Yeah, of course they'll be here soon!" Kiba grinned encouragingly from his spot on the ground, sitting next to the Hyuuga heiress with Akamaru at his side. Neji closed his eyes, folding his arms over his chest and listening to the voices of his comrades. Slowly, he opened his eyes, his hands forming a seal. "Byakugan!" The Hyuuga genius locked his attention on the sight of an ANBU blackhop moving toward them, then on a pair following after him; one held a still form in her arms. A small smirk played on his lips as he deactivated his kekkei genkai.

"They're coming. And they have Naruto."

The doubt that had gripped her heart suddenly disappeared at the words; Sakura smiled brightly, turning her attention toward the forest. _'Naruto... You're almost home. You're safe.'_ Out of the corner of her eye she noticed Shikamaru standing, brushing himself off. "Might as well go alert the Hokage." He rubbed at the back of his neck, peering down at the ground for a moment before he turned and walked leisurely through the gates of the village.

Moments after Shikamaru had left, Daisuke landed neatly on the ground; he was followed by his squad and the boy in Ayako's arms. "Naruto!" Sakura cried, sprinting up to Ayako.

"He'll be alright. We weren't followed. Lets get him to Hokage-sama as quickly as possible!"

"I'll take him," Neji offered. The woman nodded, handing Naruto to the Hyuuga genius. Sakura stared down at her friend in Neji's arms, biting her lip worriedly. "Well, what are we waiting for!?" Kiba suddenly put in. "Lets go!"

"R-Right!" came the meek cry of Hinata.

The teenagers shot through the gate, heading toward the hospital - Tsunade had told them to meet her there.

Ayako, Shibi, and Daisuke remained behind.

It was silent amongst the three adults for the longest time. "You don't think...?" started Shibi, before he was harshly cut off by Ayako's sharp voice. "It's not our place to talk about what may or may not have happened while he was captured!" Her glare dispersed any other questions. However, as another minute placed, the woman sighed and bit her lip.

"But there were streaks of dried blood on his legs..."

* * *

The sounds of several pairs of feet sprinting quickly through the streets alerted the civilians to move out of the way; some were shocked to see the obviously injured Naruto in Neji's arms; others scowled, snorted, and went on about their business. It was those people that Neji wanted to stop for, to throw into a wall for even daring to give his friend - his hurt friend - those looks.

But Neji just bit back any remarks and killing urges and kept darting through the streets.

Kiba was a ways ahead, on the back of his faithful dog. Four legs were quicker than two, no matter how much training any of them did. Sakura was to his left, Hinata to his right, and Shikamaru on her right.

He caught the worried glances they would give the almost lifeless boy in his arms. He was worried about him too.

Naruto was too still.

Naruto was _never_ this still. Even in earlier days, when he'd been knocked out during missions, Naruto would stir every once in a while, as if trying to force himself to wake up from his temporary coma. But there was no movement, no stirring; almost as if Naruto didn't have the will to wake up.

He had thought too much. Neji sprinted through the doors of the hospital; Kiba had already notified a nurse, and the woman gestured for them to follow.

She sensed their urgency, obviously, as she jogged rapidly down the hallways, calling for the other medical staff to move out of the way. "Tsunade-sama!" the nurse called. Immediately, the blonde woman stepped out of one of the hospital rooms, gesturing for the group to enter. Neji slowed to a walk, entering the room and laying Naruto down on the bed; he lingered, hovering just slightly over the boy. One hand brushed at a few strands of hair that fell into Naruto's closed eyes before Neji stepped back.

"Shizune-" he hadn't even noticed the darked haired woman standing with her arms folded infront of her in a corner of the room "-get some bandages from the cabinet. And I want to check him over carefully. You'll have to leave." Tsunade's gaze landed on the group of anxious teenagers.

"We're his friends! We should get to stay!" Kiba protested loudly. The woman shook her head. "Friend or not, I don't want you in here with me; you'll only get in the way."

"What about me?" asked Sakura, pushing passed Neji and Kiba. "I'm a medical ninja."

Tsunade seemed to hesitate; but then she shook her head, rejecting the idea. "No, only Shizune and I will examine him."

Sakura opened her mouth to protest.

She wisely closed it when the busty blonde woman glared at her.

"Now then, if there's no more questions, you know where the door is," Tsunade spoke, her voice calm. Neji couldn't help but scowl slightly; he, like the others, wanted to be there for his friend. It wasn't fair that they were being put out - what if Naruto needed them? Again, the Hyuuga bit back any comments in favor of turning on his heel and walking out of the hospital room, followed by his reluctant peers.

The blonde sighed.

Shizune had gathered the supplies, setting them on the table. Dark eyes lifted, falling on the woman who was gazing down at Naruto with a sad expression. She watched Tsunade lift a hand, brushing away stray bangs - much like Neji had done previously - and sigh. "Naruto... If I'd only thought through it, you wouldn't be like this." There was regret in her voice.

She had been so sure, _so sure_ that Naruto would be fine.

But he wasn't.

Tsunade let out a shuddering breath. "Alright. Lets begin." Shizune nodded with an encouragingly smile.

* * *

The blonde woman sighed, resting her palm against her forehead.

Before lay the reports she had gathered from Naruto's examination; when she had examined him, she'd felt like crying. Tsunade sat back in her chair, closing her eyes and folding her hands in her lap. She had called two people to her, and they would be arriving soon. It was they who she would relay the news to first.

There was a knock at her door.

"Come in," the Hokage called, her voice tired with sad tones mingled. The door slid open, and Sakura stepped into the room, followed by the raven haired male.

Uchiha Sasuke had been dragged back - not quite kicking and screaming since he'd been unconscious the entire time - by Naruto, Sakura, and Kakashi several months before. He'd been put under careful watch; his shinobi title was stripped from him; and his chakra had been bound to ensure that he didn't try anything. He didn't. After a few months of good behavior, he had no longer needed to be watched by ANBU constantly. A few more months and his title had been reinstated and he'd been released from his chakra binds - Naruto had been the main reason for this. That had been only three months ago.

Sasuke had been there when their plan had undergone.

He stood with his hands in his pockets, staring at Tsunade curiously; Sakura stood at his side, her hands folded behind her back, chewing on her lips.

It was silent until-

"Hokage-sama, what is it you wanted to tell us?" came Sasuke's cool, calm voice. Tsunade stared at the Uchiha, her gaze flicking to Sakura, and then to the ceiling above. "As you expected, it's about Naruto." She took it as a good sign when both tensed up expectantly, knowing she had their full attention.

She sighed, leaning forward and running a hand through her hair.

"When we examined him, he had some bruises and his chakra was drained. We'd expected that. But what we didn't expect was the blood that ran in streaks down his inner legs. But there was also semen mixed in with that blood." Tsunade paused, flicking her gaze toward the pair.

Sakura's eyes were wide; Sasuke's teeth were gritted. She continued.

"We took some samples for DNA testing, and it was Uchiha DNA, specifically, Uchiha Itachi's."

Red flashed before Sasuke's eyes, and his fists clenched at his sides. Both Sakura and Tsunade felt the sudden killing vibe that radiated from Sasuke's body - Tsunade had expected it. She was silent for a moment before continuing. "Shizune and I have cleaned, clothed, and healed him, but we can only heal physical wounds. That's where the two of you come in. I expect that after this, Naruto will be wary about being touched by anyone, specifically those of the male persuasion and even more so those who are older than him." Again, she paused, giving them time to ask questions and make sure they understood so far.

Sakura bit her lip. "So... Naruto was ra...ped...?" The young Uchiha visibly winced at her question.

Tsunade nodded solemnly. "There were marks on his wrists which suggested he'd been bound, and claw marks on his hips as if someone had been holding him down." The woman surpressed the shudder that ran up her spine; her little brother had been captured and raped, and it was all her fault.

The pink haired girl grew silent, staring sadly down at the ground.

Again, Sasuke broke the uncomfortable silence.

"What exactly do you want us to do?"

Leaning back in her hair, Tsunade folded her arms over her chest, brow furrowing. "Watch over him; make sure he knows he's safe and that we will not let anyone harm him again. Right now, he's going to need friends now more than ever. And surpress those killing urges, Sasuke! You are _not_ going after Itachi! Naruto will probably need you with him the most."

Sasuke had jumped in surprise before returning to his normal demeanor.

But inside, he was furious; Itachi had raped his _best friend._ Itachi had taken something away from Naruto that Naruto could never ever get back, and if Sasuke had anything to say about it, he'd pay for it.

Sakura glanced to her right, staring at Sasuke; she could tell he was pissed. She was pissed too, and upset that she had been able to do nothing to protect her friend from harm. The girl wrung her hands together, lifting her gaze from the young Uchiha to the Hokage. "Hokage-sama, what if... what if Naruto is afraid of us after this?" Tsunade furrowed her brow again. "If he is afraid you'll hurt him... show him that you mean him no harm."

"And if Itachi comes back for him?"

The blonde woman looked at Sasuke. A small smile formed on her lips. "If Itachi comes near Konoha in search of Naruto, he's all yours, Sasuke. With the help of ANBU, of course." Sasuke started to sneer - he didn't want nor need any help to kill his brother - but thought better of it and just nodded instead. Neither of the pair asked anymore questions, and Tsunade sat up, placing her hands on her desk. "When Naruto comes to, I'll talk with him and learn a bit more. After that, I'll send someone to tell the two of you that you can visit him. Oh, and this _is_ a long-term mission, and it's not limited to just you two. If any other of Naruto's friends want to help, then they are welcome - tell them that. I called the two of you because you would be closest to him; you were his teammates."

With a wave of her hand, Tsunade dismissed the pair.

She turned back to the reports on her desk; she'd failed to mention that Ayako, Shibi, and Daisuke's report had said they had come upon the scene just as the Akatsuki were about to begin the extraction process. Worrying them would not help the fear and sadness and anger they probably already felt. Tsunade sighed, rubbing at her eyes with the heel of her hand.

Sake would so wonderful right now.

Her thoughts were interupted when Shizune charged in, her chest heaving as she made wild gestures with her hands. "Naruto's awake!" Looks like sake would have to wait. Tsunade nodded and stood, following after the dark haired woman.

* * *

The mood was solemn inside Ichiraku's. Kiba picked at the ramen noodles with his chopsticks, poking them and stirring them around in the now-lukewarm broth. Hinata sat at his side, her head resting on the tops of her hands, which rested on the counter.

Neji, Sasuke, and Sakura sat nearby.

"So Naruto was... y'know?" Kiba asked. The words _rape_ and _Naruto_ just didn't sound good in a sentence. Sakura nodded sadly.

The Hyuuga heiress lifted her head, opened her mouth to speak, then closed her mouth and stared down sadly at the counter. There was a hiss off to their right, where Sasuke sat next to Sakura. "Yeah, he was raped -" the others cringed back at the sound of the word; they couldn't believe it "- and it was by fucking _Itachi_." His voice ended in a growl.

Neji closed his eyes, folding his arms over his chest. "And we're to watch over him and protect him, where before we failed." Another hiss sounded from the young Uchiha's throat, but he didn't say anything. All of them knew that Neji's words were true - they had failed to protect Naruto when it really counted. Now they had to fix it. Kiba had given up trying to eat, handing over money to Teuchi to pay for his meal. The old man waved his hand, declining it.

He had heard the conversation.

"Keep it. You have enough on your hands at the moment." The Inuzuka nodded gratefully, turning back to the group. "When can we see 'im?"

Sasuke shut his eyes.

It was Sakura who answered.

"Tsunade-sama said she would send someone to get us when she had finished checking him and speaking with him."

Silence fell over the group. Hinata's meek voice suddenly rose up to their ears.

"Naruto-kun... will be okay... right...?"

It was the question that was lingering on all of their minds.

* * *

Tsunade stepped inside the white hospital room, holding a folder to her side. Sunlight filtered in through the windows, the dark green curtains only blocking some of it out; a bed sat on the far right with a nightstand to the left. A vase with various flowers sat on this. There was a sink with lower and upper cabinets on either side and underneath and above. The closed white door led to the bathroom.

The room smelled clean, with a small flowery hint.

Naruto sat on the bed, the white sheets surrounding him and almost seeming to swallow him up completely. Some bangs fell infront of his eyes, his normally spiky blonde hair damp from the humidity. He stared down at the sheets somewhat sadly.

"Naruto..."

The boy blinked and lifted his head, staring at Tsunade.

Her heart warmed a little when he flashed her his signature grin, his eyes closing. "Hey Tsunade-obaachan! You're the one treating me?"

'_Well at least his personality doesn't seem to have been affected.'_

The blonde woman smiled warmly, nodding once. "I am." His grin only widened, and he threw his hands up to fold them behind his head. "That's great! So what'cha here for exactly? I doubt it's just a friendly visit." Tsunade smiled cheerfully, stepping toward the bed and sitting on the edge and opening up the folder. "Actually, I just need to get some information and do another examination. But once that's done, I'll send word out to your friends that they have come see you."

Naruto nodded, leaning back against the headboard.

"Alright, I need to know everything you're willing to tell me..."

Naruto told her everything. He hesitated a bit when it came to parts about Itachi, but the blonde did end up speaking about it. Everything he could remember about the Akatsuki hideout, where it was, what it looked like, he spoke of. It took a few hours to tell the full story, but Tsunade was attentive the entire time, writing notes down on scrap pieces of paper and storing them in her folder.

"- I heard some of the Akatsuki members talking once when they thought I was out of it about other jinchuuriki. It seemed like they hadn't gotten all of the tailed demons yet from the way they spoke. And, er, that's all I remember." The kitsune lifted a hand, scratching at the back of his head somewhat sheepishly. "That's more than enough, Naruto. All the information you have is valuable. Now, lets get on with the examination."

Tsunade stood, setting aside her folder and writing untensil; she checked his bandages to find the bruises had already healed up, and that the scratch marks that had been left were gone as well. However, the marks on his neck - '_Hickeys,'_ she thought bitterly, _'He gave him hickeys.' _- hadn't faded, and she assumed that the mark she had found on his inner thigh during her first examination hadn't faded either.

The last thing Naruto needed right now was someone stripping him down and spreading his legs to check if a mark had disappeared yet.

From there, it was mostly just like a check-up; she had no need to check for internal bleeding or damaged organs or tissue, as that had been done the first day Naruto had come to the hospital.

But she did draw blood to be tested. She had him urinate in a tube to be tested as well ("Why do I have to friggin' pee in a tube, obaachan!?" "Because it's for testing, just do it!").

Picking up her folder, Tsunade scribbled a few more notes down before peeking over the top at Naruto, who watched her with a curious expression on his face. "That's about it, Naruto. I'll have someone go alert your friends that you can be visited now." She smiled warmly, and he grinned back.

With her folder and the test tubes in hand, Tsunade made her way out of the room.

She caught up to Shizune, handing the test tubes to her.

"I want these to be analyzed and the results sent back to me, alright?"

"Of course," Shizune replied, smiling before she jogged off. Tsunade breathed deeply, hands on her hips. A sigh followed afterward. "I really need a cup of sake..."

"Somehow, I doubt that'll help much." Her head lifted, staring at the speaker. "Ah, Kakashi. Just who I was looking for. I have a task for you. Go get Naruto's peers and tell them he can be visited now."

The copy-nin nodded.

"Alright, I'll get them."

In a puff of smoke, he was gone and Tsunade was left standing alone.

* * *

He stood silently, staring down at the waters. One hand hung lazily over the edge and his feet were folded one behind the other. Dark eyes stared back at him; the more he watched his reflection, the more it seemed to twist to fit the appearance of his older brother.

Sasuke growled.

Angrily, he kicked a loose rock into the water, scattering the reflection - when it returned, it was no longer Itachi.

The young Uchiha had separated himself from the others to think. He couldn't help but think that part of this was his fault. If only he'd been strong enough to kill his brother the first time they met, when he was twelve, then maybe Naruto wouldn't be hurt now. Dark eyes closed and he leaned down, resting his chin on the tops of his hands. He stood on the bridge team 7 had often met at.

It seemed like a good place to think.

The raven felt another's presense, the sound of feet thudding on wood as they landed next to him ringing in his ears.

Without opening his eyes, Sasuke spoke, "Why're you here, Kakashi?" The copy-nin stepped next to the young Uchiha, leaning against the railing and staring out over the waters. "Naruto's up and Tsunade told me to find you guys," Kakashi replied, peering down at Sasuke.

One eye cracked open to peer up at his former sensei.

"Naruto's awake now?"

Kakashi nodded - and then blinked down at the sudden empty space next to him. Sasuke had already darted off. A small chuckle rose from his lips. "Severed bonds, my ass."

* * *

The young Uchiha pushed the door open, panting just slightly. There were already others there:

Neji and Lee; Shikamaru; Sakura, Hinata, and Kiba with Akamaru.

Sasuke stared at them before his gaze flicked to the bed. A familar grin caught his attention, and the corners of his mouth tugged up into a bit of a smile. "Hey teme! What took you so long, huh? Am I not important enough for you or something?" His tone was playful.

The raven snorted.

"Tch. Dobe. Just be glad I'm here at all."

"Well maybe I don't want you here!"

Sakura sighed. She could tell they were only playing, but it still worried her. Although, the fact that Naruto was still acting like Naruto helped alot.

Sasuke stepped toward the bed, folding his arms over his chest and leaning against the wall next to the bed.

Naruto grinned up at his friend before turning to the others.

"So what's up guys? I haven't talked to you in forever!" The Inuzuka chuckled; Akamaru barked and hopped up onto the bed, curling up at the end and staring at Naruto. "We were all frantic lookin' for ya, buddy!" The others in the room smiled or nodded but didn't say anything; Naruto could tell they felt uneasy, and he knew why. Their uneasiness was making him uneasy.

Kiba seemed to be the only one acting normal around him.

Sasuke as well, but it was normal for Sasuke not to say anything.

"So, how was it?"

"Kiba!" Sakura hissed warningly. The young Uchiha dug his nails in the nightstand, glaring at the Inuzuka hatefully, the Sharingan flaring. Naruto just blinked at the reaction to the question. "How was what?" Kiba gestured. "Er, well... y'know?"

The blonde suddenly got it and lowered his head slightly.

"Uh, well, it was really nothing special. Actually kinda hurt." Sasuke's nails dug deeper into the nightstand, dragging and creating indents; he was still glaring at Kiba. Why would you ask something like that? And Naruto's reply was what really had him ticked off. _Actually kinda hurt._ Itachi had hurt _his_ best friend, _his_ Naruto!

...When had Naruto become his?

Sasuke blinked, removing his hand from the nightstand.

Kiba nodded solemnly. "Yeah, I bet so. Sorry I asked." Naruto just shook his head with a grin. "Nah, it's fine! I'm fine with it! I had to tell Tsunade-obaachan about it too, so it's not a new thing to me."

From there, the mood seemed to lighten drastically.

* * *

Tsunade stared at the test results.

She read them, and then reread them.

"Shizune, are you _positive_ these are Naruto's results?" she questioned, lifting her head to stare at the woman. Shizune nodded. "Yes, they are. I don't understand the results either. Naruto can't be -" the dark haired medic-nin was cut off by a wave of Tsunade's hand.

"It can't be... It just can't be possible..."

* * *

They had sat for hours, chatting and talking about old memories, what had happened in the village while Naruto was gone, different missions. It was easier than before - they now knew that Naruto wasn't affected by his rape. He was okay. He was still the same bubbly blonde jinchuuriki that they had grown to love and care about.

Even the young Uchiha talked with them, and once Naruto got him to laugh.

Naruto seemed happy about that.

Neji was the one who noticed the way Sasuke acted around the blonde. There was a protective nature about the young Uchiha as he sat next to the blonde boy on the bed, listening to him talk and occasionally rolling his eyes. The pair still fought. But it was mostly playful banter that they shared now, though Sasuke and Naruto's rivalry remained.

The group was happy with sitting and talking.

That is, until Tsunade pushed open the door. "Naruto!" The blonde jumped, his gaze shifting to the blonde woman. "Yeah, Tsunade-obaachan? What's up?" he questioned. Sakura's brow furrowed and she jumped to her feet, staring at her sensei. "Tsunade-sama, what's goi -" The Hokage waved her hand, cutting the pink haired girl off. Her gaze was fixated on Naruto as she strode over to the bed, staring down at him.

A sigh lifted from her lips.

"There's no easy what to explain this, so I'm just going to hand the reports over to you."

She tossed a folder of files at him; Naruto blinked, caught the folder, blinked again, and then opened it and began to read. For several minutes he read - then his eyes grew wide as saucer pans.

"I'M _WHAT!?"_

Sasuke flinched back from the scream - he'd been sitting right next to the blonde, after all - and stared at Naruto as if he'd gone insane.

The busty woman sighed.

"Yes, Naruto, you're pregnant."

A simultaneous cry rose from the other teenagers in the group, "WHAT!?"

Tsunade scowled. "Are you all deaf!? Naruto is _pregnant!_" The blonde stared at her as if she'd just grown a second head and three more eyes. He suddenly lurched forward, attaching himself to Tsunade's waist. "No no no! I'm male, Tsunade-obaachan, _male_! I can't get pregnant! It's not possible! _I'm_ supposed to _impregnate,_ not be the one impregnated! Please tell me the results are wrong!" the boy wailed, burying his face in her stomach. The woman sighed, prying Naruto away from her.

"Tsunade-sama, how is this possible?" Sakura questioned.

The Hokage sighed, rubbing her forehead. "Well, I did some research. Naruto apparently -"

Naruto suddenly screeched, "Am I a hermaphrodite!? Is that how I got -"

With a glare, she cut him off and continued. "- is able to carry a child because of Kyuubi no Youko. No, Naruto, you are not a hemaphrodite; you're completely male. Kyuubi, however, _is_ a hemaphrodite. Your child is surrounded by the fox's chakra, which protects it; this chakra is much like a mother's womb. But because you're a male, you'll have to have a C-Section. And no, you cannot use that jutsu of yours to turn yourself into a female. The child would still be surrounded by chakra, not in the womb, and you would still have to have a C-Section. Plus, when you slept, the henge would disappear."

Naruto stared at her. And then he attached himself to the closest thing available - Sasuke.

"BUT I'M NOT SUPPOSED TO GET PREGNANT!"

He continue to wail and screech and reject the idea while his friends tried to calm him down. Sasuke, however, was rather content to just let Naruto cling to him while he soothingly stroked the boy's cornsilk hair.

* * *

So, was it any good? -sweatdrops-

Please review and tell me what you think. (: And, um, don't always expect chapters this long. This one was actually going to be longer, but I thought that this would be a good place to stop.


	2. Chapter 2

**Author's Note; **So, it's been a while, eh? Yeah, sorry about that. This is kinda late, but... have you read the newest chapters!? -flailflailspazz- They're completely insane! Now, due to those, this now an AU story (not that it wasn't before...), so yeah. Um, again, sorry for the lateness of this chapter and that's it kinda short compared to the last chapter, but I did warn you not all of them would be that long, right?

Right. Now, on to the story!

* * *

Sasuke looked so much like Itachi.

It made him nervous. When Sasuke came to visit him, he was tense and wary until he had left - and he felt horrible about it.

The same black hair. The same pale skin. The same dark eyes.

Naruto knew he shouldn't feel this way - it was Sasuke who came to visit, not Itachi - but he did. He was afraid of Sasuke, his best friend, because Sasuke happened to look so very similar to his brother.

And he felt horrible about it.

* * *

He grunted in dislike, scowling and glaring at the blonde woman who stood infront of him. "Tsunade-obaa-chan!" the jinchuuriki complained loudly, "Why can't I at least just go outside _just for a minute_!? It's not gonna kill me! I'm fine! I'mfineI'mfineI'mfine! You can't keep me cooped up here! I know my rights as a shinobi! _I'm fine_!"

She returned the scowl, rubbing her temples with her fingers.

"Naruto! You dumbshit! It doesn't matter if you're supposedly fine! Your ass is staying right here until _I _say you can go! You got that, you ungrateful little rat?" Tsunade snapped, one hand resting on her hip as she leaned over, her face dangerously close to the blonde's. He bared his teeth at her. "Old hag!" Naruto bit out hatefully.

"Rotten pest! And if you move one inch, I'll have Shizune tie you down again!"

"Tch, whatever! I'd easily be able to get out of any knot Shizune or you could tie!"

"Why you little - !"

Their oh so pleasant conversation was interrupted by someone clearing their throat loudly.

Both Naruto and Tsunade paused and blinked, glancing toward the source of the sound. Sasuke quirked his eyebrow, leaning against the doorframe. "I'm not interrupting anything, am I?" Tsunade forced herself to calm, a vein in her forehead still pulsing, as she discreetly glared one last time at Naruto, sighing inwardly (it was rather embarrassing to be caught arguing with a mere Genin, especially by another Genin).

"No, Sasuke, in fact you arrived just at the right moment. Maybe _you_ can get him to stay put for just a few more days."

It was true that Naruto would do almost anything for Sasuke.

_Almost _anything.

If the Uchiha told him to get up and dance around like a chicken while singing "Barbie Girl", he'd laugh in his face (and the image of Sasuke even asking that completely disturbed him in every way possible).

Grunt in irritation, Tsunade left the room to the two teenagers, her heels clicking against the floor. Sasuke watched her for a moment before glancing at the blonde, quirking a fine dark eyebrow. "So, why're you trying to get away from the hospital so badly?" the boy asked. Naruto sighed, falling backwards onto his back with his arms outstretched to his sides. "'Cause I'm bored! There's nothing to do here! And the clean air is too much; could they open a window or something!?" Sasuke mentally noted the open window near the blonde's bed and sweat dropped. "You'll be fine. Just relax."

"Easy for you to say. You aren't pregnant," the jinchuuriki mumbled moodily.

Naruto was still easing into the fact that he was pregnant. It just wasn't settling in his mind. He shifted, folding his arms behind his head and staring up at the pale white ceiling. It became awkwardly silent (at least for Naruto, who liked noise over quiet) and the blonde shifted uncomfortably. "..Hey Sasuke? D'ya think you could talk to Tsunade-obaa-chan and see if she would let me out of the hospital early? I could live with someone - anyone - if it meant I could get out of here!" The little kitsune rolled over onto his side, his gaze shifting to the wall now. Sasuke stared at him, considering the request.

"I can try."

That made the blonde light up.

In a flash, Naruto had shot up from his bed and firmly attached himself to Sasuke, grinning up at him. "Thanks! I owe you one! Don't take no for an answer! And dodge her fists, 'cause it hurts if you get hit!" He released the raven, trotting back over to his bed and plopping down on top of it.

'_Dodge her fists?' _the Uchiha questioned in his head curiously, watching the blonde boy for a few moments before shrugging his shoulders, deciding he could at least dodge quick enough to avoid the blow if it actually came to that. However, he doubted that Tsunade would try to hit him – that was generally just reserved for Naruto, after all. Dark eyes watched the blonde boy curl up on his hospital bed. Again, that awkward silence fell over the pair. "..If that's all, then I'll go talk to Tsunade," the raven stated, dropping the honorifics for just a few moments, since he was talking to Naruto. Truthfully, he didn't want 

to leave the boy alone. Recently – and he didn't know why – Sasuke had been wanting to spend as much time with the blonde as humanly possible without it seeming like an obsession. But, if he had nothing to talk about, what was the point of staying here with him? Naruto glanced at his friend, blinking curiously. "Oh, um… Yeah, I guess you should go. You probably have things to do anyways. Thanks ahead of time for talking to Tsunade-obaa-chan for me!"

Sasuke nodded, then turned and left the room.

Silently, he made his way down the hall, ignoring the looks he received from some of the younger nurses as they passed (and the older ones, but the thought disgusted him so he tried to pretend they weren't there – seriously, he wasn't _that_ good –looking). He wasn't sure if Tsunade was still in the hospital, but he figured he might as well check. What was the harm? As he rounded a corner, the boy was fortunate enough to catch the busty woman as she was stepping out of a patient's room. "Hokage-sama," he called, hoping to catch her attention, which was successful. The woman blinked at him in confusion. "Ah, Sasuke. Did you manage to convince Naruto?"

"…"

"..I'm going to assume he convinced you to try to convince me to let him out early?"

"Yeah," came the short reply.

"Well, you can just march back and tell him that he's going to be staying here until I decide that it's time for him to leave, alright?"

"He won't take 'no' for an answer, Hokage-sama."

Tsunade sighed, knowing the blonde boy well. She furrowed her brow, staring down at the ground for a moment before shaking her head. "It'll only be a week at the most. Can he not wait until then?"

"Apparently not," replied Sasuke.

"There's no other option, though."

"..I can let him stay at my house with me for that week, if you wanted." It was a surprise to both. Sasuke didn't like people very much, after all, and having a hyperactive blonde around would get on his nerves eventually, would it not? But yet, the boy was offering. Tsunade narrowed her eyes suspiciously at the raven, wondering what his intentions were. After all, if Sasuke were anything like his brother…

What was she thinking?

Sasuke was smart enough that, even if he was sexually attracted to the blonde, there was no possible way he'd try to touch him right now. Hell, chances are, even if he had been attracted to Naruto at one point, he wasn't now simply because it was his older brother who had fornicated with him. Although she couldn't say she completely trusted the Uchiha, she knew Naruto did and she knew Sasuke wouldn't try to hurt him (at least not sexually…). "Alright, Uchiha, I'll give you one chance at this. But, if Naruto doesn't want to, then he's not going, got it? And – "

Sasuke wasn't prepared for this.

" – if your dick gets anywhere close to his ass I'll rip it off and shove it up _yours_, understand?"

The raven swallowed at the threat, sweat dropping. He knew she would do it too – not that he had any intentions of trying anything like that with the jinchuuriki. Once the intentional shock of what she had said had worn off, Sasuke nodded.

"Right…"

A smirk formed on the woman's lips. "That's a good boy. Now, let's go break the news to the blondie, eh?"

* * *

When both Tsunade and Sasuke stepped through the door, Naruto looked up and blinked before a grin formed on his lips. "So, you gonna let me leave Tsunade-obaa-chan?" the boy asked enthusiastically, shifting to sit in the middle of the bed cross-legged. The woman nodded. Naruto's grin widened.

"Yeah! I'm getting out of here!"

"But there's one condition, gaki."

That rained on Naruto's parade – conditions tended to not be fun and end badly, at least when he was involved. The kitsune sighed softly, leaning back against the wall. "'kay, what's the condition?" he asked, already regretting the answer. Here, Sasuke cut in –

"You're going to live with me for a week."

Naruto blinked. "..Eh?" It took him a moment to process, and Sasuke thought he was going to protest when the boy shrugged and nodded. "Alright, that's fine with me, long as I get out of this hell hole sooner than I would have." Cerulean blue eyes shifted to the Uchiha, his head tilting slightly. "Did you offer that option?" the boy asked curiously. Sasuke nodded.

"I know, it's surprising, isn't it?" Tsunade put in, smiling. "Alright, gaki, you're free to go with Sasuke as soon as you check out." Immediately, Naruto hopped up from the bed, stretching his arms above his head, his back arching so his stomach was pushed forward. It was weird to think that eventually Naruto would start getting 'fat' with a child – the image of a fat Naruto slightly disturbed him, since he was used to the muscled, slim boy who was standing infront of him right now. Pushing the thoughts from his mind, Sasuke stepped back from the doorway to allow the blonde ball of energy to bounce through, watching him trot down the hallway toward the front desk.

Upon realizing Tsunade and Sasuke weren't following him, he turned, still running backwards, and called out to them – "Sasuke! Baa-chan! C'mon!" – before turning and continuing down the corridor.

A light chuckle passed Tsunade's lips.

"He's so full of energy."

Sasuke glanced at the woman, nodding in agreement. "Yeah, I noticed," he murmured softly, absorbed in watching the blonde boy. After a moment, he realized he was staring and snapped out of it, but not before the woman beside him had noticed. Her eyes narrowed dangerously on him. Suddenly, she was a smirking.

"So you like the gaki, Uchiha?"

That made Sasuke jump in surprise. Cold dark eyes glared at the sannin before he shook his head, following after the blonde at another irritated call from him. That reaction told Tsunade otherwise, and she sighed softly. _'I wonder what I put Naruto through by letting Sasuke at him… But, Sasuke won't hurt him, I'm sure of that.'_

* * *

Naruto darted down the street, bouncing up and down every so often, obviously happy at being free from the 'hospital from hell' as the boy had put it the moment they had left. He was practically purring in delight when he paused, panting just slightly – unfortunately for Sasuke's wallet, his eyes landed on Ichiraku's. He bounded up to the raven, grinning from ear to ear.

"Oh Sasuke!"

He didn't like that tone.

Warily, Sasuke eyed the blonde, sizing him up before asking carefully, "..What?"

"Buy me some ramen?" Long lashes batted slightly (funny, he'd never noticed how long his lashes were before until now – guess he never paid attention), an adorable innocent look directed at the Uchiha which had made even Kakashi buy him ramen before. Of course, he knew Sasuke was a bit tougher than that in general, so he might have to turn up the charm a bit.

The raven seemed to consider the thought.

"..Alright, dobe, I'll buy you a bowl of ramen. But that's it – I'm not exactly rich, you know."

"Good enough for me!" the boy exclaimed, bounding up to the stand and plopping down in a seat, ready to order. Sasuke rolled his eyes, following the blonde. He let Naruto order for both of them, and they were silent until their orders were placed before them, both miso ramen. Naruto brought his chopsticks apart, taking a big slurp of noodles; Sasuke ate less quickly and without the excessive slurping.

About halfway through the meal, the boy glanced at the blonde to find he was just staring at his ramen now, his chopsticks held limp in his hand. Dark eyes watched as the kitsune set his chopsticks down, continuing to stare down at his half empty (half full?) bowl.

"Hey, Sasuke…"

Did Naruto seem… worried? Frightened?

The boy shifted nervously in his seat before sighing, closing his eyes.

"I just wanted to thank you. For visiting me when you probably had better things to do."

Curiously, Sasuke set his chopsticks down. Naruto didn't just get silent and start acting strange for no reason; the boy obviously had something to say that was bothering him. "It's no problem, dobe. I wasn't the only one who visited you," he reminded the boy. "Heh!" Naruto laughed slightly, continuing, "I know the others visited me, and I want to thank them too, but you were there the most."

He paused to take a bite of his noodles, again setting his chopsticks down.

"Sasuke… I'm scared. I don't know what's gonna happen – I'm a boy having a baby. I mean, what if the Akatsuki finds out? What will they do? And what if I can't take care of a baby at my age? Plus, there's the fact they're gonna have to cut me open to even get it out." Again, he paused, his gaze shifting down to his stomach. Sasuke said nothing, just listening. "I'm a boy having a baby. That's not very natural. Gah! I feel so stupid right now 'cause I don't know what to do!"

He slumped forward, resting his head on his arms.

Sasuke stared at the blonde for a moment. Naruto was scared? That was a first, but he didn't blame the boy at all – he'd be frightened too if he found out he was going to be the first male to carry a child. Before he even thought about it, the words started spilling out of his mouth, coming in a torrent. "It's alright to be afraid, dobe. Anyone would if they were in your position. Your friends will help you through this. We're not going to just leave you alone to do this yourself. You'd probably screw it up."

It was a joke.

And it made Naruto laugh.

Grateful blue eyes locked on the Uchiha, a smile forming on his lips. "Thanks Sasuke. It really means a lot knowing I have support through this." Gently, Sasuke smiled back – a slight curving of the corners of his lips upwards, but it was there, and Naruto could see it.

Teuchi dumped more ramen noodles into the blonde's bowl, surprising the boy. Curiously, both teenagers glanced up at the old man, who just smiled back. "I heard your little story. Having a baby, eh? Well, then you're gonna need plenty of food to feed it, so eat up. That's on the house." Naruto's eyes lit up at getting a second bowl free, since he was originally only going to receive one bowl of ramen. "Thanks a lot!" he exclaimed before proceeding to down the food infront of him. Sasuke shook his head at the display, lifting some noodles into his mouth.

"You're such a loser."

"Oi! How am I a loser, teme?"

"You just are."

"Yeah, well, you're a bastard!"

Ayame and Teuchi watched the display of affection between the pair amusedly, marveling at how flustered Sasuke could get Naruto within just seconds without even trying. One little comment set the blonde off – but that was how the lovable little ball of energy was. Smiling, the father-daughter pair watched them bicker and argue until the raven paid and they walked off, where they listened to their continued fighting until they were too far away to hear.

* * *

Somewhere hidden from prying eyes, a meeting was going on. They had lost precious cargo – and, in the process, learned a new secret they hadn't known before. That a jinchuuriki had the ability to get pregnant, even when they were male.

"So you lost the jinchuuriki and now he's pregnant."

Pein's tone was reprimanding.

"You know what you have to do now, don't you?"

Sharingan eyes opened, and the silent figure nodded. "But what about Sasuke? He's back in Konoha now, you know. More than likely, if you go anywhere close to that village, he'll come after you."

"He's just a nuisance. He'll be no problem," Uchiha Itachi stated for a first time.

His eyes flashed slightly. "I'll bring the jinchuuriki back. And this time, I won't lose him."

Dangerously, Pein glared at the Uchiha.

"You better bring him back. I want that bijuu – and I want that child, too."

Another nod and the man had disappeared, moving toward the unsuspecting village of Konoha in search of the blonde jinchuuriki and the carrier of his child. This time, he wouldn't let some ANBU Blackhops come in and take him away like before. This time, things would be different.

* * *

Um, I hope you enjoyed this. It's basically an introductory to what happens later chapter, so nothing very interesting goes on. Hopefully some comedy and stuff that lightened the mood? idk. Look forward to the next chapter and review and critiicize please!


	3. Chapter 3

**Author's Note: **Soo... I know you all hate me by now. It's been... what? 3 or 4 years since I last wrote anything?

By the way, I am so sorry for that! First of all, I lost all my writing mojo. Then, honestly, life hit me hard and I forgot about these stories until today. I signed in, which I'm surprised I still remembered my username and password, and started rereading all my old stuff. And I remembered all these stories and ideas that I had and I just couldn't stop myself from continuing them. So I guess I'm back!

Yay! Right? It's a yay?

-sweatdrop-

I sure hope so...

Well, since I'm back and all, I wrote chapter 3 today. I hope it's good enough for everyone's liking. My writing style may have changed a bit and I hope that's okay too... I'd like to think I got better, so hopefully I did. And I should keep up with this stuff from now on... Hopefully. I may be adding more to some of my other stories here soon, so be looking for that as well. (:

Anyways... onward!

* * *

"The baby will grow at an abnormal speed, due to the demon's chakra. Fox kits are born within nine weeks, while a human baby takes nine months. So it's not surprising that you're starting to get bigger after only a week," Tsunade explained to the distraught Naruto, who had thought something was wrong.

It had been a week since he had been admitted from the hospital into the Uchiha boy's care. Yesterday, the blonde had been in the shower (showering at Sasuke's felt… surprisingly not strange) when he had noticed that his normally flat belly was sporting an unnatural pooch…

* * *

"_AAAAAHHHHH!"_

_The scream broke Sasuke from his sleep (it was only 7 in the morning, which was late for him, and somehow Naruto had woken up before he had) and he shot from his bed, sprinting down the hallway and skidding to a halt in front of the bathroom door, kicking it open. "Naruto!" he cried, afraid something bad had happened – like someone had snuck passed his traps and was in the house. _

_What he found surprised him._

_A dripping wet blonde boy stood pouting infront of him, his towel wrapped loosely around his waist and threatening to fall off at any moment. Sasuke blinked in confusion. "What…?"_

_The blonde huffed and poked his stomach. "I'm getting fat!" he screeched. "I can't get fat this early! The baby's not supposed to show until two months into the pregnancy, right! Is there something wrong with the baby!" It didn't take the Sharingan to see how distraught the kitsune was. "Calm down, Naruto. We'll go see Tsunade and see what she has to say. But… Naruto…" _

_Confused, Naruto tilted his head, peering at Sasuke. _

"_What, teme?" _

"_Your towel just fell." _

"_My tow – what! Eek!" _

* * *

Thus, the two ended where they were now – in a hospital room with Tsunade explaining the reasoning behind Naruto's suddenly becoming 'fat'. Honestly, the blonde didn't seem like he was too thrilled about the older woman's explanation.

"You mean I'm gonna have this thing way before I expected? What the hell, Baa-chan! Can't you slow it down or something! I'm not sure I can be ready in nine months, let alone nine weeks!"

A vein popped in Tsunade's temple.

"First of all, brat, that _thing_ is a baby! Your baby, so you damn well better start calling it such! Secondly, no, I can't slow it down, because turns out Kyuubi's chakra is a helluva lot stronger than mine for one thing and for the other, I can't slow down a damn normal pregnancy! You want me to try to fuck with a demonic male pregnancy? Yeah, it's not happening, and you're just gonna have to deal with it!" The rant left Tsunade with her hands on her hips, leaning over so that she was the same height as the blonde jinchuuriki who was sitting on the bed in front of her. Said blonde jinchuuriki was also just staring at her completely slack jawed and confused. Then, slowly, his jaw closed and the boy gave Tsunade a look like he'd just turned into an adorable puppy, walked up to her wagging his tail happily, and she had kicked him across the road.

Broke a woman's heart, it did.

She sighed, one hand resting on her forehead with her elbow propped into her side. "Sorry, Naruto, sorry… I shouldn't have snapped like that."

"S'okay, Baa-chan…" he answered softly, cerulean eyes flicking to the tiled floor below them. For a few moments, the two of them (Sasuke hadn't been allowed into the examining room) were completely silent. "Tsunade… I'm not sure I can do this…" Tsunade bit her lip.

"Listen, Naruto, I know I pick on you and I know that you're young but… I also know you can pretty much do whatever you decide you want to do. I've seen you do it before. Having a child is a huge responsibility and it's gonna be tough, but you've always done well overcoming tough obstacles. Everyone agrees. No matter what happens, you never quit." The woman paused, staring at the top of Naruto's unruly head since the boy hadn't stopped staring the floor tiles down since she'd started speaking. Slowly, she stepped toward him, high heels clicking quietly, and sat on the bed next to the blonde, suddenly wrapping her arms around him. Naruto seemed surprised, glancing at her face. The woman just smiled back at him. "You can do this, Naruto."

Slowly, a smile formed on the blonde's lips, reaching his eyes a few seconds later. He buried his head into her chest, attaching to her waist as he hugged her back. "Thanks, Baa-chan… But what about the villagers? I mean, they hated me for so long… How are they gonna reach to a baby that's not only half-demonic, but half…"

The blonde didn't finish his sentence.

Tsunade didn't ask him to. She knew what he meant.

The woman frowned. She hadn't thought of the reaction the rest of the village would have… For the most part, the whole thing had been kept under wraps. Actually, the only villagers who knew were Ayame and Teuchi from Ichiraku's, and that was only because some teenagers couldn't keep their mouth shut (including Naruto). But they were trustworthy and they liked Naruto; they'd also heard the story of what had happened to the blonde, which was also due to some damn gossiping teenagers.

"Well, you'll just to deal with that when the time comes. Who knows? Maybe they'll accept the child no problem. I mean, they're starting to accept you, aren't they?" she asked, smiling in what she hoped was a comforting way. Naruto blinked, looking slightly confused for a moment before he slowly nodded.

"Yeah… Yeah, they are starting to like me better, aren't they?" The boy smiled at the thought, his eyes closing happily. "Thanks again Tsunade-obaa-chan! I can leave now, right?" Naruto was already hopping off the bed and walking toward the door to the hallway. Tsunade laughed a little and made a shooing gesture at him. "Yeah, hurry up and get out of here! I don't wanna see your face again until next week, got it?"

"Got it!" A mock salute was added with the call as he pulled the door open and ducked out into the hall.

Tsunade smiled fondly at the door before she sighed, rubbing her temples with both hands as she leaned against the bed. This whole situation was such a nightmare…

Outside the examining room, Sasuke leaned against the wall, arms crossed, one foot folded over the other, eyes closed. When Naruto exited the room, however, one eye popped open to stare at the blonde, silently asking what the diagnose was. Naruto smiled at the raven. "Everything's all good! Turns out that fox kits just take a lot less time to grow than human babies, so I don't have nine months – I have nine weeks until I have this thi – " here he remembered Tsunade's rant and wisely decided to change his wording; that woman had the ears of a fucking bat " – baby."

Naruto had started to walk down the hallway and Sasuke followed along side him.

Something was bothering the raven though. "But if it's only going to take nine weeks, does that mean that the baby isn't technically yours? That it's Kyuubi's?" The question stopped Naruto in his tracks which the raven hadn't expected, since he kept walking a few feet before he stopped and looked back at the blonde. He was staring at the tiles, a strange look on his face. "I… I hadn't thought of that…"

Shit.

Shit fuck shit.

Now he'd gone and upset the kitsune. Honestly, sometimes Sasuke just didn't think about others' feelings when he said something. The raven didn't have a lot of tact when it came to people, especially upset emotional people. But, of course, being the way he was, the Uchiha suppressed his feelings of guilt and just stared at Naruto.

"..Look, the baby's got to be yours. At least partly yours. It's growing in your body after all," the Uchiha boy offered, feeling not so bad when the blonde gave him a small smile and a nod.

"Right, of course! Of course it's mine! I dunno why I thought otherwise! C'mon, Sasuke, let's go home." The thought of home suddenly made him grin wildly. "Hey, I get to go home!" And Sasuke stared in horror as the blonde danced around happily at the thought of sleeping in his own bed. Horror and mild disgust. Did Naruto not realize that he resembled a dead chicken flopping in the wind when he danced?

He was also attracting a lot of attention with his dancing.

A _lot _of attention.

So much so that it was making the Uchiha boy uncomfortable and irritable. "Alright, Naruto, you can dance at your house. Quit attracting so much damn attention, dobe."

"Shut it, teme! I'll attract as much attention as I damn well please!" was the growled reply.

"Whatever. Idiot."

"Bastard!"

"Loser."

"Bastard!"

"You already used that one, you moron."

"Don't care! It just reinforced the fact that you're a damn bastard, and I hate you."

"Tch. Whatever, dobe."

"Teme!"

All of this sounded bad down to the nurses down the hallways, but when they actually took the time to look, all they saw was two friends grinning (or in Sasuke's case smirking) as they pushed and shoved each other down the hallways. Naruto would punch Sasuke in the shoulder, and Sasuke would trip the blonde – which sounded terrible, honestly, but the raven knew full well that Naruto could easily catch himself from totally falling, preventing the baby from any possible harm.

They were just two friends leaving the hospital together like everything was normal.

Like they're lives hadn't been completely altered by the last month.

* * *

It was almost like Naruto hadn't been captured and raped and nearly killed. It baffled everyone how the boy could run around and talk and laugh like someone hadn't forced him to do anything, like someone hadn't completely destroyed his pride and dignity.

But that was the thing about Naruto.

The incident hadn't destroyed his pride or his dignity or his ability to continue on with his life.

Sakura supposed that was why everyone liked Naruto so much. No matter how pain, how much misery, how much utter bullshit he went through, he took it then rose back up stronger than ever. Nothing could bring that kid down. She wished she could be like him; roll with the punches then shrug It off. Things got to her though, especially when they involved her friends. Was it a bad thing that while Naruto seemed fine about his situation, Sakura worried constantly about it? She was sure that wasn't healthy in the slightest. Maybe she should just let it go… If Naruto could let it go, then she should be able to.

The pink-haired kuniochi stared down sadly at her folded hands in her lap.

She couldn't stop thinking about it. Everything that had happened to him… The way Itachi had used him, what he'd taken from the blonde, what'd he left behind… She couldn't stand it. She hated that man. She hated him so much. It flared up inside her suddenly and she grit her teeth, squeezing her hands together tightly. If he came after Naruto – if he came anywhere near her friend again she would make sure that he wouldn't leave. Screw Sasuke and his vengeance; she had a reason to want him dead now too and she would help her former teammate take him down whether he protested or not.

"Sakura-chan? Hello? Are you alright?"

The voice startled her, snapping her out of her anger, and green eyes met the brilliant blue that stared at her both confused and worried. "Um… yeah, I'm fine. Why?" She played stupid, slapping on a smile that she hoped was convincing.

Naruto eyed her for a moment. "'Cause I just asked you like seven times if you wanted to go to the bath house with us." Oh, well, that was pretty suspicious… She laughed a little nervously, scratching her neck in a very Naruto-ish fashion.

"Oh! Sorry, I was thinking about something else. I'd love to and all but Tsunade wanted me back after we'd finished sparring. So maybe another time, Naruto?"

The blonde blinked at her then nodded once, smiling happily. "Yeah, definitely!" He then proceeded to turn to each individual there (Kiba, Lee, TenTen, and Neji) asking if they would be able to make it. As the group talked, Sakura just glanced between them, wondering if any of the others felt like she did. The girl couldn't honestly tell; they all acted like normal around him. Maybe that was the better thing to do – act like nothing had happened just like Naruto did.

Sakura sighed and stood, telling the group good-bye before she headed off toward the hospital.

In the end, no one went to the bath house because no one could make it for various reasons (other plans, a mission, etc.) and Naruto didn't want to go alone.

* * *

His apartment was creepily quiet. He really didn't like it.

Naruto had just arrived home and he already wished he would have accepted staying with Lee. The energetic taijutsu master had offered before he had run off to do 500 laps and 1000 sit-ups with Gai, saying that he would be done before dark and he would be honored if Naruto would stay with him. As much as he liked Lee, Naruto wasn't sure he could spend the entire night with him. That combined with the fact that he didn't want to trouble anyone made him decline the offer. Lee had been disappointed but he understood.

'_Damnit… This place is creepy as fuck at night.'_ He shivered as he stripped out of his jacket and tossed it onto the floor, slipping out of his sandals and walking as quietly as being a ninja couldn't stop the occasional scary creaks the floorboards made when he stepped on them. One particularly creepy creak sounded exactly like someone scraping a kunai against his window (which he knew wasn't true because he'd snapped his head up at the only window in his apartment to check) and Naruto whimpered, forgetting about being quiet as he darted as quickly as possible to his bed, jumping from a few feet away so that he didn't have to get close to the space underneath like he expected someone to grab his ankle and drag him under.

Okay, so maybe he was a little shaken up.

It only ever happened when he was alone at night though. Part of him wished that he had never stopped staying with Sasuke after that first week. Having someone around helped calm his sudden fears that something was going to snatch him out of the dark.

Naruto had never been afraid of the dark or afraid of being alone for that matter.

He didn't like being alone, but he wasn't afraid of it. That tended to happen when you spent most of your life ostracized by the general population.

But, ever since his… ever since he'd been kidnapped, the boy had been genuinely afraid of being left alone. It really pissed the boy off to no end. He hated being afraid of something just because of _Itachi._ The name made his nose flare out and he growled out loud. And then he was blind-sided with the memory that he'd been very good about ignoring.

Naruto whimpered, squeezing his eyes shut tightly.

His hands fumbled for the blankets until he found them, pulling them up over his head and wrapping them tightly about himself, leaving his face open to the world. The kitsune looked a bit like an Eskimo as he curled against the bed, his eyes still squeezed so tightly together that he was getting a headache. He thought about other things; Sakura and Sasuke and sparring with his friends and eating ramen and beating the hell out of Kiba today and – and then the memory was safely tucked away again and Naruto breathed a sigh of relief, finally settling down.

'_It's just a memory… Just forget about it,'_ his brain told him, and he listened to it, finally calming down enough to let sleep take hold of him.

* * *

Normally, Sasuke didn't worry about his missions.

However, his recent missions had been guarding the outskirts of Konoha, searching for Akatsuki who may come searching for Naruto. So of course he had reason to be worried. After all, they had failed in protecting the jinchuuriki before and look at what had happened…

Sasuke cursed.

Damn Akatsuki and his brother to fucking hell.

The raven leapt into the trees, darting quickly around his target area like he did every couple minutes or so before he landed back where he had been previously. He pushed through some bushes, slowly walking around, ears straining to hear anything suspicious. All there was were birds and squirrels and general forest noises, which is all he ever got.

Half of him wanted them to come so he could kill them. The other half wanted them to stay as far away from the village as humanly possible and just forget that Naruto had a demon locked away inside him. Depending on the day, one half usually outweighed the other, but right now they were about even. Again he combed the area, again finding nothing unusual.

Maybe they wouldn't come back? Maybe they had realized they couldn't have Naruto no matter how much they tried.

Hn. He really doubted it.

His arms folded over his chest as he sighed, walking around the same circle he had been walking around the entire damn day. Honestly, he'd rather be guarding Naruto directly instead of combing the perimeter, but then he might miss out on the chance to rip Itachi's throat out . Morbid thoughts popped into his head about how many ways he could kill his brother, and a smile formed on his lips. So maybe he was a little twisted. So what? He could damn well be twisted if he wanted and it wasn't like anyone could read his thoughts anyways.

Something made a twig snap.

Immediately the boy was on high alert, his fantasies of his brother's death forgotten. His katana was in his hands faster than a blink and the Uchiha growled, glancing around quickly with his Sharingan flaring up in his eyes. Nothing stirred for a few moments until – _crack_! Another twig snapped and the Uchiha leapt in that direction, swinging at the intruder… who blocked his attack and jumped back shouting. "Sasuke, it's me! Shit!" TenTen snapped, kunai in hand as she crouched a few feet away from him.

The Uchiha stared, his eyes narrowing at her. "Well maybe you should have said something before walking up here." Honestly it was lucky to have been her – TenTen was one of the only people who could have a straight weapon on weapon fight, no jutsu or chakra, with the Uchiha and not end up seriously injured.

Anyone else would have been decapitated by his attack more than likely.

TenTen sighed, standing up and scratching the top of her head. "Yeah, sorry about that. I wasn't sure where you were. But Hokage-sama wanted me to relieve you, so here I am!" She smiled at Sasuke, placing her hands on her hips. He eyed her for a moment before nodding, stepping passed her. The brunette watched him go before leaping up into the trees, combing through the area much like Sasuke had done.

When they separated, red eyes stared at Sasuke's back, watching him head back toward the village. His lips curled into a smile as he realized that neither of them had noticed his presence – how did they expect to guard the little blonde if they couldn't even find him? It was almost amusing with how sad it was.

He had actually wanted one of them to notice him. He had wanted Sasuke to notice him.

But, alas, Itachi had silently arrived as the weapon mistress made her entrance, distracting Sasuke from his duties of guarding the perimeter. Tsk, it seemed that Sasuke was always distracted by something. It made him weak, honestly. Ah well, the more distracted his little brother was the less likely Itachi was to have to deal with his nuisances and his cries of revenge and hatred, no matter how much they amused him so.

Oh well, it was probably for the better that he hadn't been noticed. After all, he had a date with a little blonde kitsune who he was sure had missed him oh so much.

* * *

**End Note:** So there it is, chapter 3 of Vulnerability! Hope it was to everyone's liking. Reviews and critique and ideas for story progression are always welcome!

Oh, here's a little fun fact:

I actually had part of this already written and waiting for me when I started it again today. I just started reading through old files and found this. Anyways, again I want to apologize for the very long wait, and I'm not sure this chapter makes up for it but I sure hope it does! I love you guys. :D


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